1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to methods for clustering and merging imprecise data and, more particularly, to methods for clustering and merging of imprecise data in the form of bivariate normal random variables.
2. Brief Description of Prior Developments
Consider the problem of tracking, with an imprecise measuring instrument, the individual positions of a group of fish as they swim around in an effective two-dimensional plane, say, near the surface of a lake. Furthermore, supposing that reflections or rapid swimming during the measurement process cause multiple images of a single fish to be recorded. Because the data is imprecise, each position is represented by a pair of random position variables. Therefore, the problem of eliminating redundant positions referring to a single fish requires solving the equivalent analytical problem of first clustering and then merging multiple bi-variate random variables.